HS2

Construction of HS2 between Birmingham and Crewe will be delayed by two years, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said.

Mr Harper said then Phase 2a - extending the line from Birmingham to Crewe - was "on track" to be completed between 2030 and 2034. Michael Fabricant, also a Tory MP, said he will ask the Government whether the delay "marks the end of HS2 north of Birmingham" and if the "damage" done in southern Staffordshire - including to his Lichfield constituency - will be repaired. But the leader of Birmingham City Council, Ian Ward, said the decision to delay part of the route represents "another betrayal of the Midlands and the North, making a mockery of the Government's empty promises to level up the UK economy". “ Construction of HS2 between Birmingham and Crewe will be delayed by two years, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said on Thursday. Construction of HS2 between Birmingham and Crewe will be delayed by two years, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said

Government accused of "outrageous attempt to avoid scrutiny" by sneaking out update on long-awaited high-speed rail project.

“This is an outrageous attempt to avoid scrutiny for what is a very significant announcement, which should have been made to this House first. “Tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic growth are dependent on this project,” the Labour MP said. “The secretary of state should have had the decency to come to this house and explain to members why they are doing this.”

Route from Birmingham to Crewe to be delayed to reduce annual project spend.

In order to allow time for this process, and given wider pressures on RIS, we will look to rephase construction by two years.” He said: “Refocusing our efforts will allow us to double down on delivering the rest of our capital programme. He said: “It is one of the largest planning applications ever, and it is important we get this right.

The BBC said it understands this will primarily affect the high-speed railway between Birmingham and Crewe, and between Crewe and Manchester.

Mr Harper said Phase 2a – extending the line from Birmingham to Crewe – was “on track” to be completed between 2030 and 2034. But the leader of Birmingham City Council, Ian Ward, said the reported decision to delay part of the route represents “another betrayal of the Midlands and the North, making a mockery of the Government’s empty promises to level up the UK economy”. The Labour councillor said in a video message posted on Twitter: “HS2 has the potential to deliver economic growth across the country, but it is being undermined by the Government at every turn. “This project with the backing of Labour and the Lib Dems should never have gone ahead in the first place. Michael Fabricant, also a Tory MP, said he will ask the Government whether the delay “marks the end of HS2 north of Birmingham” and if the “damage” done in southern Staffordshire – including to his Lichfield constituency – will be repaired. “We’re looking at the timing of the project, the phasing of the project, we’re looking at where we can use our supply chain to secure a lot of those things that are costing us more through inflation,” he told the BBC.

Delays to some sections of HS2 to save money have been announced by the Government. The section of high-speed railway between Birmingham and Crewe will be ...

A budget of £55.7 billion for the whole of the project was set in 2015. The date range for the western leg of Phase 2b – connecting Crewe with Manchester – remained between 2035 and 2041, the Cabinet minister added. Last year, the first tunnels were finished in Long Itching Wood and a [new bridge has been installed over the M42](https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/gallery/huge-hs2-bridge-lifted-position-25863488) [HS2](https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/all-about/hs2) Ltd chief executive Mark Thurston recently said the impact on the project from inflation has been "significant", adding to the cost of building materials, labour, fuel and energy. "With costs spiralling and the business case for HS2 getting weaker every year, delays will not get the project back on track. Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager for the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "HS2 is on a collision course with the realities of poor budgeting and soaring prices. Construction of the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 will be delayed by two years. Services will initially start and end at Old Oak Common, west London, due to delays at Euston. But Mr Harper said he was instead “prioritising” the initial services between Old Oak Common in London and Birmingham Curzon Street, as he also announced setbacks to key road projects. Conservative MP Simon Clarke, former chief secretary to the Treasury, said earlier: "This would be a sensible decision. Mark Harper also set out delays for services running to Euston in central London, as he instead focuses on initial services between Old Oak Common in the capital’s western suburbs. The section of high-speed railway between

Transport secretary Mark Harper blamed soaring prices and says it was "committed" to the high speed rail link.

The area has been blighted by whole fields turned into construction sites." Euston station in London is currently scheduled to open later, by 2035. HS2 has been beset by delays and cost rises. The head of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Henri Murison, said the delay was "disappointing" and "holds back economic benefits". He said the decision had been "difficult" but that it was part of "controlling inflation and reducing government debt". Mr Harper said "significant inflationary pressure" and increased project costs meant the government was to "rephase construction by two years".

Road schemes postponed as ministers seek to offset impact of inflation on capital budgets.

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The high-speed line was due for extension between Birmingham and Crewe between 2030 and 2034 to help boost transport in the north of England. But Mr Harper said ...

Penny Gaines, chairwoman of the campaign group Stop HS2, said: “With the so called re-phasing of the Birmingham to Crewe section, the delays and downgrading of other parts of the project, the Government is spending tens of billions to have a railway with two Birmingham stations and one in the suburbs of London. AA president Edmund King said: “All modes of transport are vital to the economy, environment and society in the UK, so cuts across the board will have a detrimental effect.” Mr Harper insisted: “These are the difficult but responsible decisions we are taking, that put the priorities of the British people first, in controlling inflation and reducing government debt.” Mr Harper insisted the Government was “committed” to delivering services into Euston, but said ministers will “take the time to ensure we have an affordable and deliverable station design”. In a written ministerial statement, Mr Harper insisted that the Government is “committed” to delivering the high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Crewe. The high-speed line was due for extension between Birmingham and Crewe between 2030 and 2034 to help boost transport in the north of England.

Britain said on Thursday it would delay building parts of a new high-speed railway linking London and northern England after the cost of the massive project ...

"Tens of thousands of jobs, and billions in economic growth are dependent on this project," said Louise Haigh, transport policy chief for Britain's opposition Labour Party. The project has also already been scaled back; in 2021 the government scrapped a planned link to Leeds, citing spiralling costs. He did not set a new completion date for the whole northern section linking Birmingham to Manchester. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story But Harper said the section between the city of Birmingham and the town of Crewe around 60 miles to its north would be "rephased" by two years. In the latest blow to a project designed to modernise Britain's rail network and add capacity on busy tracks, the government said construction of a section in central England would be pushed back.

However, there will be some more rethinking of the station design at Euston to keep costs down, to deliver it alongside the extension from Birmingham to Crewe ...

That’s not supposed to be the opening date. If there is a delay, HS2 must not forget the promises they made to our community and must continue to deliver on them.” Considering the transformational impact that HS2 was intended to deliver, offering fast links between cities and freeing up huge amounts of capacity to boost regional and commuter travel, cutting into HS2’s capacity to deliver at a time when costs are rising is to leave the country with the risk of an expensive railway that offers limited benefits. Delays are a double hit to the purse. In his statement to Parliament, the Minister cited high inflation at the moment as a reason to delay the railway, but inflation doesn’t go negative unless something very bad happens to the economy, so delaying the project doesn’t save money, it makes it even more expensive. However, there will be some more rethinking of the station design at Euston to keep costs down, to deliver it alongside the extension from Birmingham to Crewe and Manchester.

New stations and 18 trains an hour. HS2's inception follows the development of HS1, the high-speed line between London and Kent connecting the UK to routes ...

But the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the delay would hit confidence in the rail industry and could lead to higher overall costs for HS2. And on Thursday the government announced the construction of sections of HS2 will be In June 2013, the coalition government increased the overall cost to £42.6bn and in November 2015, when the figures were updated, in line with inflation, to £55.7bn. The first part was due for extension between 2030 and 2034 to help boost transport in the north of England, but the window has now shifted from 2032 to 2036. The aim is to run 18 trains an hour in each direction to and from London - at speeds of up to 224mph - compared to between two and six an hour on Europe's high-speed railways. In August 2019, the government announced an independent review of the programme to advise on whether to proceed. Stations on the first phase of the line will be London Euston, Old Oak Common in west London, Birmingham interchange and Birmingham Curzon Street. HS2 is a planned high-speed rail network which was initially intended to link London and the West Midlands, with a further phase extending to cities in the North. The project is designed to meet the long-term growth in demand for rail services, improve the reliability of the network, boost connectivity by making journeys faster and easier, and help economic growth across the UK. The story of HS2 is becoming a sorry saga, when it was intended to be a symbol of the future which would transform public transport between London and the North. HS2's inception follows the development of HS1, the high-speed line between London and Kent connecting the UK to routes on the European continent. HS2 is the UK's biggest infrastructure project, which is supposed to transform public transport between London, the Midlands and the North.

In a pre-Budget announcement, the transport secretary unveiled huge cuts and delays to transport schemes, including stalling the Lower Thames Crossing by two ...

Louise Haigh MP, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, responding to further delays to HS2, said: 'The North is yet again being asked to pay the price for staggering Conservative failure. Given many of these schemes were previously expected towards the end of RIS 3, this extra time will help ensure better planned and efficient schemes can be deployed more effectively.’ Projects on the strategic road network schemes due to start work in the second (2020-25) road investment strategy (RIS), will now begin in the third RIS (2025-30), with RIS 3 schemes likely to be kicked back into RIS 4.

A small village will welcome any delay to HS2 that will postpone the prospect of having 700 lorries travelling on its road each day, councillors have said.

The Department for Transport would not comment on any proposed delay to aspects of HS2. The HS2 project has been beset by delays and cost increases before. We have been here before with these types of announcements about delays and cancellations.